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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s a bad idea to major in something you aren’t that passionate about just because that’s where the jobs seem to be at. 
Look what happened to CS! A lot can change in 4 years, so make sure your kid gets a well rounded education and learns how to learn, not just learn specific skills.

Agree with PP that avoiding loans is of the utmost importance. There are no guarantees of any degree “paying off” in specific monetary terms and everyone needs to understand that going in.

There is value in going to college even if you end up working in a completely different field than you majored in, as long as you stay away from debt.

We will be paying a lot for DS to attend a SLAC. [b]I am fully prepared for the possibility that he may not end up with a traditional white collar job, and I am OK with that.[/b]

[/quote]

This might be ok for you since you're wealthy and can afford to help your kid financially. OP is not in that position. OP's kid absolutely NEEDS to get a traditional white collar job or go to med/law school after college. [/quote]

It’s not because I’m wealthy. 
Good white collar jobs are becoming scarce. This is about being realistic. There are really no guarantees anymore.

But also, people need to not panic if your child’s dream job is not immediately there for them after graduation.

I am in my mid 40s and have a “good white collar job” that allows a modest-ish comfortable life in NoVA. But it was not an even path out of college. I worked abroad for a few years after college, then did this and that, took some time off to have kids, then leaned into the career I currently have. I don’t have millions, but I have enough home equity and retirement savings (plus a pension) to be OK if I have to downshift in a few years and eventually retire.

I came from a family like OP’s, so unlike most of DCUM, for someone like us it isn’t the end of the world not to be able to afford McLean or Langley pyramids, endless ECs and tutors for our kids, regular international vacations, or enough millions in our retirement accounts to afford 15 years of memory care. Not all of us love the striver lifestyle.[/quote]

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